Bokashi use in the passionfruit (Passiflora edulis l.) germination and initial growth

Abstract

The passionfruit has high relevance to Brazilian fruticulture, widely used in the food business. Its seedlings production, might attempt to the utilized substrate characteristics, its organic matter content, adequate nutrients concentration, good aeration, and pathogens agents' absence. Nowadays is increasing the use of renewable fertilizers in detriment to mineral ones, such as the bokashi and the organics compost in agriculture, although few studies are made to test how it affects different plants' metabolism. Due to this circumstance, more studies must test its effectiveness. The bokashi possesses several favourable characteristics as nutrients rapid release, soil structure maintenance, some pests, and disease prevention and control. This study used the bran rice bokashi and the organic compost aiming to verify its effect on passionfruit seedlings germination and initial growth in the tube at the greenhouse. The study area was in the fruticulture sector, on the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Sul de Minas Gerais (IFSULDEMINAS), Muzambinho Campus, Brazil. The treatments were different bran rice bokashi doses with organic compost: T1 (0%/100%, respectively bokashi/organic compost), T2 (2%/98%), T3 (4%/96%), T4 (8%/92%), T5 (16%/84%) and T6 (32%/68%). The adopted outline was the RBD, six treatments, and four repetitions, and eight tubes per portion. The obtained data submitted to statistical analysis, the treatments that stood out regarding the germination, were mainly the witness T1, T3, and T5. About the plants' growth treatments T4, T5, and T6; the T5 was the best treatment due to the high seeds germination and plant development rate on this experiment conditions.